Venus Phosphine Update June 2023
The Venusian atmospheric phosphine debate continues in 2023. Recently Cordiner et al. (2022) find no phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere, using the airborne SOFIA observatory (1). Professor Jane Greaves and the…
Posts by Dr. Janusz Petkowski and Prof. Sara Seager
Phosphorus (III) Trioxide (P4O6) Cannot be the Source of PH3 on Venus.
The source of the reported phosphine (PH3) detection on Venus is unknown. There could be an as yet unknown geochemical or photochemical process. Or, there could possibly be life in…
Phosphine Back and Forth
The reported detection of phosphine (PH3) on Venus has been controversial ever since the original announcement in 2020 (Greaves et al. 2020). Some question whether or not the signal is…
Venus Life Finder Mission Study
The 18-month MIT-led Venus Life Finder Mission Study is now complete. The Venus Life Finder Missions are a series of focused astrobiology mission concepts to search for habitability, signs of life, and…
Venus Phosphine Update
One year after the announcement of phosphine (PH3) gas in the Venus atmosphere (1), the discovery remains highly controversial. The original PH3 announcement is based on a single-millimeter wavelength absorption…
Did Venus ever have oceans?
Imagine our sister planet Venus billions of years ago being an ocean-filled world like Earth is today. The thinking is that at some point Venus underwent a “runaway greenhouse” where…
Are Venus’ cloud layers too dry for life?
Scientists have speculated about life in the Venus clouds for over half a century. In theory the conditions for life are met: an energy source, the right temperature for molecules,…
What is the source of PH3 on Venus?
The source of phosphine (PH3) on Venus is unknown. There could be an as yet unknown geochemistry or photochemistry process. Or, there could possibly be life in the Venus cloud…
